Stewart's music career began in 1962 when he took up busking with a harmonica. In 1963, he joined The Dimensions as a harmonica player and vocalist. In 1964, Stewart joined Long John Baldry and the All Stars before moving to the Jeff Beck Group in 1967. Joining Faces in 1969, he also maintained a solo career releasing his debut album that year. Stewart's early albums were a fusion of rock, folk music, soul music, and R&B. His third album, 1971's Every Picture Tells a Story, was his breakthrough, topping the charts in the UK, US, Canada and Australia, as did its ballad "Maggie May". His 1972 follow-up album, Never a Dull Moment, also reached number one in the UK and Australia, while going top three in the US and Canada. Its single, "You Wear It Well", topped the chart in the UK and was a moderate hit elsewhere.
After Stewart had a handful more UK top ten hits, the Faces broke up in 1975. Stewart's next few hit singles were ballads with "Sailing", off the 1975 UK and Australian number-one album, Atlantic Crossing, becoming a hit in the UK and the Netherlands (number one), Germany (number four) and other countries, but barely charting in North America. A Night on the Town (1976), his fifth straight chart-topper in the UK, began a three-album run of going number one or top three in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia with each release. That album's "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)" spent almost two months at number one in the US and Canada, and made the top five in other countries. Foot Loose & Fancy Free (1977) contained the hit "You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)" as well as the rocker "Hot Legs". Blondes Have More Fun (1978) and its disco-tinged "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" both went to number one in Canada, Australia and the US, with "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" also hitting number one in the UK and the top ten in other countries. Stewart's albums regularly hit the upper rungs of the charts in the Netherlands throughout the 70s and in Sweden from 1975 onward.
After a disco and new wave period in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Stewart's music turned to a soft rock/middle-of-the-road style, with most of his albums reaching the top ten in the UK, Germany and Sweden, but faring less well in the US. The single "Rhythm of My Heart" was a top five hit in the UK, US and other countries, with its source album, 1991's Vagabond Heart, becoming, at number ten in the US and number two in the UK, his highest-charting album in a decade. In 1993, he collaborated with Bryan Adams and Sting on the power ballad "All for Love", which went to number one in many countries. In the early 2000s, he released a series of successful albums interpreting the Great American Songbook.
In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked him the 17th most successful artist on the "Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists". A Grammy and Brit Award recipient, he was voted at No. 33 in Q Magazine's list of the Top 100 Greatest Singers of all time. As a solo artist, Stewart was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and he was inducted a second time into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of Faces.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Stewart
Studio albums
An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down (1969)
Gasoline Alley (1970)
Every Picture Tells a Story (1971)
Never a Dull Moment (1972)
Smiler (1974)
Atlantic Crossing (1975)
A Night on the Town (1976)
Foot Loose & Fancy Free (1977)
Blondes Have More Fun (1978)
Foolish Behaviour (1980)
Tonight I'm Yours (1981)
Body Wishes (1983)
Camouflage (1984)
Every Beat of My Heart (1986)
Out of Order (1988)
Vagabond Heart (1991)
A Spanner in the Works (1995)
When We Were the New Boys (1998)
Human (2001)
It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook (2002)
As Time Goes By: The Great American Songbook, Volume II (2003)
Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Volume III (2004)
Thanks for the Memory: The Great American Songbook, Volume IV (2005)
Still the Same... Great Rock Classics of Our Time (2006)
Soulbook (2009)
Once in a Blue Moon: The Lost Album (2010)
Fly Me to the Moon... The Great American Songbook Volume V (2010)
Merry Christmas, Baby (2012)
Time (2013)
Another Country (2015)
Blood Red Roses (2018)
The Tears of Hercules (2021)
Cold Old London
Rod Stewart Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In cold old London, down by the Thames
We were sacred, and slowly fell in love
Oh but I just let you go
We were made for each other
Was I too young to dream
Life's a treasure, but love's so unkind
So please be careful with this heart of mine
Oh that I just let you go
You were my every moment
Was I too young to dream
What fool I was, what a damn fool I was
So blind I couldn't see, yeah
Now I'm getting older, and the girls are getting younger
Maybe it's too late for me
I still wonder, where you are each night
Staring at the moonlight with a new man by your side
You were beautiful in every human way
Oh so why did I let you go
Cold old London
Cold old London
Ooh, ooh, ooh
We were made for each other (for each other)
Was I too young to dream (too young to dream)
The lyrics to Rod Stewart's song Cold Old London evoke feelings of regret and nostalgia as the singer reflects on a past love that he let slip away. The song begins by acknowledging the mystery of how he first met this person in the cold, historic city of London, down by the iconic Thames river. Despite initially feeling a sacred connection, they eventually fell in love slowly, with the singer ultimately letting his lover go. The second verse emphasizes the notion that they were made for each other, but questions whether the singer was too young to fully appreciate this fact.
The chorus contains arguably the most poignant lyrics of the song, referring to a comment made by the lost love that gave the singer butterflies. Here, Stewart compares love to a treasure that is sometimes unkind, urging his partner to be careful with his heart. But despite this warning, the singer laments having let his love go, unsure if he was too young to understand its significance. The final verse contains a somber twist, lamenting that the singer is getting older while the girls he meets are getting younger. He still thinks about his past love, wondering where they are and who they now share their life with.
Overall, Cold Old London is a song that explores themes of lost love, regret, and the passing of time. Stewart's poignant lyrics paint a vivid picture of a relationship that could have been, leaving the listener to wonder about the one that got away.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't know why, we first met
I don't know what the reason for us meeting for the first time was.
In cold old London, down by the Thames
We had our first encounter in chilly, historic London near the river Thames.
We were sacred, and slowly fell in love
We felt like our love was something holy and we fell for each other gradually over time.
Oh but I just let you go
I didn't hold on to our love and let it slip away.
We were made for each other
It felt like we were a perfect match.
Was I too young to dream
Maybe I was too naive to think that we could make it work in the long run.
You said something that gave me butterflies
You said something so sweet that it made me feel giddy and excited.
Life's a treasure, but love's so unkind
Life is full of wonderful things, but love can be cruel and unpredictable.
So please be careful with this heart of mine
I'm asking you to treat my heart with care and not hurt me.
Oh that I just let you go
I still regret not trying harder to make things work between us.
You were my every moment
You were always on my mind and in my heart.
Was I too young to dream
Perhaps I was too inexperienced to realize just how important you were to me.
What fool I was, what a damn fool I was
I was a complete idiot for not seeing how special our love was.
So blind I couldn't see, yeah
I was so ignorant that I couldn't appreciate what I had when I had it.
Now I'm getting older, and the girls are getting younger
As I age, the women that I attract are becoming younger and younger, which makes me feel insecure.
Maybe it's too late for me
It's possible that I missed my chance at true love and now it's too late.
I still wonder, where you are each night
I still think about you and wonder who you're with every night.
Staring at the moonlight with a new man by your side
I picture you looking up at the moon with your new partner, which makes me jealous.
You were beautiful in every human way
You were gorgeous both inside and out.
Oh so why did I let you go
I can't help but question why I didn't try harder to keep you in my life.
Cold old London
A reference to the location of their first meeting.
Ooh, ooh, ooh
Vocalizations that add to the emotion of the song.
We were made for each other (for each other)
A repetition of an earlier line, emphasizing their compatibility.
Was I too young to dream (too young to dream)
Another repetition of an earlier line, suggesting that the singer may never know if his youth led to his mistake.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Kevin Stuart Savigar, Rod Stewart
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind